On his first day in office, Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed Executive Order 1 which extended protections to state employees for sexual orientation and gender identity. However an executive order can be undone by the next governor, as was the case when former Gov. McDonnell rewrote the state’s list of protections, removing sexual orientation protections former Gov. Tim Kaine had put in place.

JoAnn Benjamin, the International Advising Coordinator for JMU and one of the founders of the LGBT Faculty and Staff Group, found out about the policy change as she was casually checking her email. She noticed the small note from JMU’s Diversity Director, Art Dean.

“I ran out of the building to find someone to high-five, I was so excited!” said Benjamin. The members of the LGBT Faculty and Staff Group and Benjamin had been working towards this kind of equality, as well as benefits for same-sex partners.

The ACLU of Virginia, which has championed equal protections in VA for some time, applauded JMU for the addition of gender identity to the list of protected classes. While JMU was unavailable for comment by press time, the VAACLU said the new rule could relate to the recent addition of gender identity to of the Department of Education‘s guidance on Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities.

“Even though we believe that such discrimination already violates federal law,” said Rebecca Glenberg, Legal Director of the ACLU of Virginia. “JMU’s policy change is an important step forward in ensuring that all members of the university community understand that discrimination based on gender identity is unacceptable.”

Requests for comment sent to JMU and the Attorney General’s office were not returned by press time.